A Poring's Tale
by Wrong Number
Summary: A tale of an orphaned Poring. Elastic, roundish pink body, a huge apettite, he had the habits and personality any other ordinary Porings do. What makes it different, is that it inherited the the powers of his mother, the Angeling...
1. Prologue

'Ello there. This is my first story in The truth is though, I wrote this story a couple of years back. I posted it in another website, a forum actually. So this is roughly the same story with perhaps one or two minor changes, some extra flowery words and, you know, removing some, uh, unnecessary stuff.

You guys can search up the original story if you like though. There's probably gonna be a lot of errors, weird plot/language and stuff, so I won't really recommend it. Besides it ruins anticipation or something.

I will post the link if you all want though. Probably after a few chapters so you guys would get the gist of the story and stuff. Also because you guys can see like some plot development or something.

So here we go.

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A Poring's Tale Prologue 

_Hey mum… what are we doing here again?_

_There's something I want to show you._

… _Do I have to?_

_Yes, dear._

_Here? But this place is freaky. I might get lost!_

_That is why you mustn't wander off._

_But…_

_Hush… mummy will give you a green apple when we get home. Just be quiet for now, okay?_

Two Porings. Or rather, one Poring, and an Angeling, were wandering about in the middle of a forest. To the people of Rune Midgard, this forest was known as the Hidden Temple. Mist hung thick at every corner, gloom drips at each curve like an omen, with just a single step, you will find yourself in an area very much different from the previous one.

It was almost like magic.

The Poring sulked, if that was possible, but kept its mouth shut. It, he was just like any other porings: jelly-like pink blobs notorious throughout Midgard as harmless looters; also, the main source of apples in the region. However, this poring, an offspring the most extraordinary creatures, an Angeling, and an Arch-Angeling, could be easily differed from the rest; mainly because of a small topaz-coloured crystallization within his body.

Emperium.

It wasn't odd though, seeing as both of his parents were also bearers of this rare crystal. The only thing odd was the fact that he lacked the wings, size, and colour that determines his bloodline. Still, odd as it was, he wasn't different from any other poring. Green apples were always his weakness.

_So… are we there yet?_

_Almost, dear, almost._

_I still don't see why we have to do this._

_Your father though it will be an interesting experience for you to discover your roots._

_Roots? What roots? And how come dad isn't with us?_

_He had some business in Juno. He's a busy blob you know._

_Still..._

_Ah. We're here._

They arrived in a shady part of the forest, or Temple. There were porings and poporings everywhere, many of them were hopping about, others were resting beneath the trees. The lushness of the forest could be seen so prominently here, the place was green, green to such an extent of purity one could not imagine. Trees towered around the area, creating a small canopy while shrubs and ferns grew at the sides. Soft grass and moss carpeted the ground, completing the tranquility that surrounded the place.

_Mum can I go play with them? Pleease!?_

Okay dear, but first, we have to look at the Tree.

_The tree…?_

It _was_a tree. A large tree in fact. No fruits hung from its branches however, unlike the more common trees in the Temple. The young poring was puzzled though. Throughout his tranquil life in Poring Land, he seen almost every type of tree, and knew all about them, how they grew, they're seedlings, their growth patterns, and most importantly, what edible stuff they drop. This tree however, wasn't at all familiar. One thing was noticeable though; the tree had markings of blobs.

Porings?

The angeling gazed at the tree proudly.

_This is our Family Tree, son. Thousands of generations of Porings, preserved beneath its very banches._

_Wow… _the Poring scanned the Tree. _Izzat me?_

It pointed at a small curvature, with markings of pink, winged blobs, and traced it down to where a pink one, met a grey one. And beneath it was another pink blob. It was wingless, unlike the rest; however, it had a small speck of yellow sand grit stuck in the middle of its body.

The angeling nodded.

_What's that thing inside me? _The poring gestured at the grit. _I'm the only one with it._

_It's a birthright, son._

_Cool. _It swelled with pride. _So can I go play now?_

The angeling stared at the poring for a few seconds, and broke into tinkling laugh. _Of course son, but I thought you would be more interested in this. _She shook her head, smiling. _Go on, have fun._

_Aw, I was interested, but honestly it got boring after the first few seconds, _he boinked off towards the other blobs. _You owe me an apple when we get home!_

The angeling watched her son as he bounced around with his fellow Porings, and they're slightly bigger, more poisonous cousins, the Poporings. She knew that he was somewhat... different than the rest, that shard of emperium within his body radiated a strange aura. She could feel it. It just wasn't natural that a completely new breed of poring would be created from the combination her and her mate. At least he should be given wings.

In truth, she was worried.

He was too young to suffer the burden of an emperium. She herself did not crystallize one until the age of 20. He, however, was barely 10 months of Age and had already fashioned a rather large piece. However, if it was working any sort of magic on him, it certainly did not show it. His tastes and patterns are still that of an ordinary, young poring. She had already consulted the elders, the Masterings, but they failed to elaborate, only that he was meant for great things in the future. That wasn't much of a surprise. It _was_ an emperium after all. Still, the emperium in him was lying fallow, and fate hadn't decided on what to do with it.

Normally, this was something parents should be proud of. Their child, a great figure for all, a prodigy of sorts. But motherly instincts still kicked in. Things like:_ He is too young! He can't do it alone! He isn't strong enough! _Filled her mind. She knew that she could not protect him forever, and that one day he would also leave her. He was too 'powerful' for one Angeling to take care of. His father wasn't even doing his fair share of work, always off in Juno, doing who knows what.

_Hey mum!_ She snapped back to reality. _When are we going back home?_

Quite soon, first I have to see your elders.

You mean those fat porings?

The MASTERINGS young one, you will speak respectfully about them

_Well, they _are_ fat..._

She shook her head. Somehow. Such impertinence... but those were the ways of the young ones. Never knowing the true importance of they're duties.

Suddenly, the ground shook.

It seemed to hit the nerve of the poring community. They all started hopping off frantically, as though they were trying to escape from the rumblings. Everyone was jumping about, banging into each other and hopping into bushes. It was utter pandemonium.

The ground rumbled again. Something was coming. Something big.

Then, just as suddenly, it stopped.

_What the-_ And then she saw it, just behind her child. _A Baphomet_.

A hulking ram-like creature on legs, with a scythe as big as itself, this one looked hungry, very hungry. And it seemed that the nearest Poring, the one with a sparkly body, had caught its attention. It didn't even seem to realize that he was in danger. Slowly… it raised its scythe…

The little poring would have no idea.

_NO!_ The angeling dove right into the baphomet, like a rabbit colliding with an elephant. But somehow, it was just enough for it to narrowly miss its target. However, the force was so great, it shoved back both porings at least twenty back.

_Son! Run! I'll try to slow it down!_ She knew it was impossible, but it would buy some time for her young one to escape.

_Mum! What is that?_ The little poring was frantic; it couldn't seem to find the energy, or the motivation to hop a single step.

The baphomet snarled, it obviously wasn't happy that dinner was interupted. But it wasn't giving up. Swatting the angeling aside, it lunged at the smaller, wingless Poring again, this time; it knew it was a hit.

Fortunately, the mother had a backup plan.

_Incolumitas Moenia!_

Scythe met poring. However, it didn't seem to touch anything. There was a purplish-pink aura surrounding the poring, guarding him from any physical attack.

The Baphomet growled and delivered more blows, each more brutal than the last. However, it was futile. The beast let loose a horrendous roar of frustration and switched to the nearest target, the Angeling. Any meal was as good as the other. And this poring, with its magical powers exhausted, seemed just as easy as the previous one.

The Angeling, still bruised and battered by the last attack she received, held her ground, refusing to yield.

The scythe went down.

_NO! MOTHER!_ The poring tried to dive towards his mother, tried to save her, but something grabbed him away. _Mum…_

The last thing he saw was a card, fluttering towards him.

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You guys can tell I really like to write stuff. Or have _a lot_ of free time.

So I hope it was up to standard and stuff. Feel free to tell me how I can touch up on it, like, if it's too, uh, _cutesy_, or weird, or whatever. I'm trying to grab personalities onto writing, so I was wondering if the dialogue and actions were okay.

And yeah, that poor poring is my main character, so lets like watch over him as he grows up and stuffs.


	2. Chapter 1

'Kay, here's the first chapter.

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**A Poring's Tale – Chapter One**

It was a mildly warm day in a small village on the outskirts of Prontera, the sun was half-obscured by almost transparent white clouds that reminded one vaguely of white cotton candy smeared against a cerulean surface. It was an ideal day for collecting apples.

Lycan sighed as he put on his boots and grabbed his staff; today would be a nice day for relaxing, but here he was, picking up apples left behind by his porings. Lycan was a rancher; or rather, a shepard, for Porings. He worked and lived in a poring ranch, by far the largest and one of the more successful ones this side of Midgard. The best apples and stickiest jellopies came from this humble farm, as well as certain kinds of herbs, which were constantly on demand since the rise in alchemists down at Aldeberan.

Lycan was a sturdy kid with a lean build, sixteen years of age. He enjoyed his manual labour; to some extent; though sometimes the porings make his job harder than it really is. He didn't mind though; he had a remarkable way with porings. It was almost like he could talk to them.

Every year, at about this time, he and his father, Lucien Denniov, would set off to the village square for the Harvest Moon, usually with twenty hulking jugs of apple cider. It would be four days to the Harvest Moon, and this year, there was an abundant supply of apples, both red and green.

Lycan surveyed the pasture and smiled, running his hands through his whitish-auburn hair, a rather odd colour in these parts. His mother, who unfortunately, died when he was barely three years old, had passed it down. He inherited his mother's light gray eyes as well, another uncommon trait around Prontera.

"Looks like I'll be busy today." He picked up his staff, made of stiff oaken wood, his father had carved it for him at his eighth birthday, it was crooked at the end, and had a skillfully carved picture of a poring at the tip. Using his free hand, he hoisted a basket to across his shoulders and set to work. "The porings sure look happy," he observed. "I wonder what their up to."

Picking up stray apples from porings may seem easy, but in truth, it was as tedious as the sage's entry quiz. Apples would be found lying seemingly alone on the ground, but the porings have found an extremely useful way of annoying they're owner. Just before Lycan could pick up these apples, they would snatch it up from nowhere and play a game of 'tag' with him. And through this way, one single apple would take at least five minutes of running and jumping.

But Lycan wasn't complaining. He knew a thing or two about apples made from porings, they was fresher and juicer and ultimately sweeter than those grown from apple trees because of the jellopies that the porings also produce. For some unknown reason, these pieces of gel actually help 'enhance' the taste and texture of these apples, which is why apples dropped by porings are much more expensive than the ones plucked from apple trees. In short, the longer these porings hold on to the apples, the better it'll be. In addition, jellopies also make extremely good 'cement'; in fact, about half of the village made use of jellopy for crafting.

Two hours later, Lycan counted the amount of apples he had collected.

"Twenty? Wow, they are getting better at this," he lamented. "I wonder how long I can keep this up." He was already sweating, and the sun really wasn't helping much.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a distinct figure running towards him. "Hm?" It couldn't be his father; it was still too early. Besides, why would his father be running? He never recalled a single moment his father even seemed to be rushing, he always appeared calm, relaxed and in control.

He squinted, and then smiled lightly. It wasn't his father. It was a girl.

She was an Acolyte, about the same age as Lycan, with a rosary round her neck, with long blue hair that hung loosely till her shoulders, swishing behind her as she ran. She had light blue eyes and rather charming features; she seemed to be carrying something pink. Must be a soft toy or something.

She skidded to a halt in front of Lycan, catching her breath. In her hands was a poring, with an odd soft glow emanating form inside it.

"Hey Nisa."

"Lycan!" She squealed, almost toppling Lycan over with her outburst. "You'll never believe what happened!"

"Happened? What happened?" He replied, steadying himself.

"I was in the temple, and there was this goat, and the poring, and then BAM! Then I ran alll the way back! You missed it Lycan, it was a once-in-a-lifetime show! "

"What?" Lycan repeated, confused. "Slow down... you're talking waaay too fast."

"I told you! There were two porings fighting this _huge_ goat-thing! Then, the one with wings got, uh, killed... I couldn't bear to let this one die too, so, I brought him back! And you're the only one I know who knows how to take care of porings, so maybe you can take care of it. Besides, the High Priest doesn't allow pets."

"Huh?" Lycan scratched his head. _'How the hell did she say that all in one breath?'_ "Two porings were fighting a goat with legs and a stick? Uh, you mean a Baphomet? And wings? You saw an Angeling? A real-life Angeling?"

"Uh huh, uh huh!" She nodded her head vigorously while squeezing the poring.

"You might… wanna… let go of the poring though."

"Ack! Sorry! I was so excited..." The poor Poring was obviously quite winded out, its eyes swirling around, and it looked quite blue, if that was possible.

"Ok..." He stared at the unconscious blob. "It looks fine to me, other than it being unconscious. Hmm… what's that thing glowing inside it? And… is that a card?" This was definitely no ordinary poring.

"Here," said Nisa, retrieving something from her bagpack "You always said this was the best way to wake a poring up." It was a green apple.

"Good idea," Lycan took the apple and waved it around the comatose poring.

The little blob didn't even stir.

Lycan tried a different approach, he took the apple and starting swirling it in circles right in front of the poring's face. He even bounced in on the little thing's squishy body.

"It doesn't seem to be working."

He now held the Green Apple just above the unconscious Poring. Usually, they would spring up almost immediately for it, it makes one wonder if they really were asleep or unconscious at all.

"Weird. This is like the very first time a poring, half-dead or no, actually turn down a _whole_ green apple." He waved it around once more, trying to waft its scent towards the little Poring.

"Um... hey, Lycan?"

"Not now Nisa, I'm still trying to wake this Poring up." He bounced the apple up and down.

"Lycan..."

"...I wonder if it's dead..."

"Lycan!!!"

"What?" Annoyed at being interrupted, he looked up; and dropped a sweat.

There was a throng porings surrounding the both of them in a four-metre radius. And they were drooling.

"Ok..." He remarked. "Maybe playing with the apple wasn't such a good idea."

"Nice… porings…" Another green apple rolled from Nisa's backpack.

Almost simultaneously, the porings turned their, uh, heads, and stared at that whole, ripe, unprotected green apple.

"Uh oh."

Instantly, the porings dove right into it: all forty-seven of them.

"Auuugh!" Lycan grabbed Nisa and the unconscious poring, hurling what's left of the first green apple in the air. Which, of course resulted into an acrobatic free-for-all between the psychotic blobs. "Why are there green apples in your bag!"

"I wanted to visit you! " Nisa squeaked as another group of kamikaze porings plummeted towards her backpack. "I was thinking of giving some to your porings! They looked so undernourished the last time! "

"Don't you know these blobs go completely and totally _berserk_ when they catch even the slightest scent of green apples!" Lycan narrowly dodged another poring sandwich.

"Hey! It wasn't me who waved it for the whole ranch to see in the first place!" She replied indignantly. More Green Apples toppled from her bag. "Eh…"

"What the…? How many apples did you bring?"

Nisa winced. "Um... twenty?"

"…. What?"

"Including the one I gave you!"

They both braked. The most obvious reason was probably because of the lack of space between them and the wall of porings that seemed to have materialized right in front of them.

Nisa gulped.

"Nisa… Your backpack." Lycan whispered, softly, slowly trying to inch back from the wall of leering porings.

"Huh?"

"Your backpack, your apples! Throw it!"

"Where?"

"Somewhere! _Anywhere_! Just do it before we get squashed by these blobs!"

She hesitated.

"Now!"

Nisa closed her eyes and hurled her bag with all her might. Praying that it would survive whatever was in store for it.

And of course, like some heat-seeking missile, the porings went in hot pursuit; their furious boinking sounds fading in the distance.

Lycan plonked onto the ground. "I'm glad that's over."

"My bag…" Nisa sobbed. "My poor, poor bag…"

Lycan smiled quizzically as he watched Nisa. She's kinda cute when she's crying, or at least whenever she wasn't all mega-hyper.

_Ugh... my head... it hurts._

"Huh?" Lycan turned.

The Poring was now awake and sitting up, rubbing its head. _Ow... where am I?_

Lycan's eyes widened visibly.

"The poring talks?"

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Don't worry, I shall send much poring lovesecks to all who give much R&R. :)


	3. Chapter 2

'Kay, here's the second chapter. 

And for those who enjoyed (read: reviewed) this story: asscones for you!

3 3 3 3

(Right...)

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**A Poring's Tale – Chapter 2**

Lycan stared at the previously unconscious poring as it hopped up, sort of like in standing position, looked left, then right; then shook its head vigorously. Judging by its small size, it couldn't have been more than a year old. Still, how the hell could it talk?

_Mum...? _It wiggled a little. _Eh… where am I?_

Lycan shivered. Somehow, a talking poring didn't seem right. He backed away slightly, almost toppling over Nisa, who, at the moment, was still in the midst of mourning for her _genuine lunatic fur _bag.

The poring's movements seemed to become frantic, it began to hop up and down vigorously, then hopped two steps forward, then two steps back. It bounced three hundred and sixty degrees to look back, and then front again; then proceeded to boink a few steps east, before returning back to its previous location. It seemed awfully confused.

_Where am I? And how'd I get here, and where's that big fat goat? And where's Mum? _The poor little thing looked quite insane.

"Hey, Nisa" Lycan whispered "Did you hear that?"

"My bag..."

"Hey, just forget the bag, it's gone now, there's no way it could've survived those crazy porings." Lycan shook her by the shoulders. "Besides, it looked old anyway."

"Well, I wouldn't have lost it if you haven't waved the first green apple around!"

"Okay... okay...sorry, I'll get you another bag, but that's not the point. Look, that poring, the one you saved, it's awake now, and I just heard it talk!"

Nisa blinked. "Talk? Porings can't talk."

"Yes… I know, but this one did, I heard it! Look, just wait and listen."

They both followed the little poring bounce around the pasture. It was about mid-day now, and the sun was at its zenith. Oddly, the entire meadow was empty of all the other porings, they're probably still decimating Nisa's bag.

_I knew going to the forest was a bad idea… _it muttered. _Now Mum's gone, and I'm lost! It's like the world hates me or something. I'm just a little Poring... nothing fancy... why me?_

"There!" Lycan exclaimed triumphantly, "It talks! You heard it?"

"Huh." Nisa scratched her head. "I don't hear anything..."

"Are you kidding? It was definitely loud enough." Lycan pointed at the poring. "Just keep listening."

_Oh jeez, now a couple of weird creatures are following me… should I run? Oh man, they're getting nearer..._

Nisa giggled. "Have you been sniffing Ora Ora again?"

"What? You know I quit that three years ago and…hey! Don't change the subject! The poring; did you hear anything?"

She shook her head slowly. "Nope, you sure you aren't just hearing voices?"

"Are you _sure_ you didn't hear it speak?"

She sighed. "Nope, it's not talking. I think you're just out in the sun too long. I'd hear voices if I stay out in the heat as much as you do." She glanced at the ranch clock. "Ack! Its almost noon! I gotta go now, the high priestess would be annoyed if I'm late again. She started running back to the village, "See ya, Lycan!"

"_Meh, I guess I'm just tired." _Lycan sighed. "It _is_ noontime already. Jeez, I just missed lunch." Also, he noticed that in the heat of the poring stampede, he lost the twenty apples he so agonizingly collected. He had to find out exactly where those porings ran off too. Sighing again, he turned.

_HiiiiiiiiiYA!_

Right into a face full of poring.

"Ow!" He rubbed his nose. "What the hec-"

_Hey you! You better stop following me! Or I'll beat you up! My Dad taught me kung-fu, and he's and arch angeling!"_

"What…?" He looked down and saw the not so unconscious and very dangerous, talking poring. "… What?" He repeated, due to being incapable of saying anything else.

_Yes you! And what did you do with Mum? Was it you who sicced that goat on her?_ It jumped on Lycan and proceeded to hop the life out of him. _'Fess up!_

"Hey!" Lycan winced. "Ow! Stop that! Hey! Wait... you can talk?"

_Of course I can talk! I've got proper education; how else do I communicate?_ The hopping ceased. _Hey._ _How come I can understand you? You aren't a Poring. What are you? And._ The hopping reinsured. _Where am I?_

"Okay, okay, just stop jumping on me! You're is a poring ranch, okay." He tried to push the blob off. "As for your mother, I don't know, I heard she was … killed, by a baphomet!"

The hopping stopped abruptly.

_Killed? Baphomet? You mean the goat? Killed!?_ It shook its head incredously. _Nah…. Impossible… I mean, how would _you_ know?_

"Well... I didn't exactly see it... but", he pointed at the poring's, um, _insides_. "I think that's proof enough though."

It was a card. An Angeling Card.

_Hey… isn't that mum? You mean… mum's really… _It choked, _dead?_

"Uh…" Lycan tried to find suitable words to soothe the poring, _'Maybe I shouldn't have told him that._' "She gave her life to save you I'll bet."

_S... save me?_ Tears began welling up its eyes. _…Mum?_

Suddenly, it burst.

Into tears.

_WAAAAAH!_ It hurled itself into Lycan, sobbing uncontrollably. _She can't be dead! She just can't! I want my mummy!_

"Jeez..." He patted the poor thing awkwardly. "There, there... it's gonna be okay. You'll be safe here, I'll take care of you!"

_But... I want my mummy..._

"Well. I'm sure your Mum's in a better place now." He gazed up at the skies. "She's probably in Asgard now, with all the rest of the angelings." Looking back down at the poring, he added, "Look, your mum sacrificed herself for you, that means I'm sure she wants you to live your life, so if you ask me, the least you can do now is to fulfill her wish."

The poring sniffled, _…really?_

"I can be pretty sure of that." He chuckled. What a cute little poring, and it talks! "I'm sure of it all right."

The poring grinned tearfully. _Hey._

"Yeah?"

_Got any green apples?_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"So you live in Poring Land?"

_Uh huh._ The Poring nodded.

They were back in the house, or farmhouse, whichever you'd like to call it. The poring was munching on a piece of green apple. Lycan has a whole cupboard of them; of course, it is always scent-free and hidden from the view of his 'cattle'.

"Heard its a pretty nice place." The Poring Land was actually quite near from where his village is located, though it's still further than Prontera.

_Its great!_ The Poring started to hop again. _There are fruit-trees everywhere and lots of bridges, best of all, it's like a gathering place for porings _all _over the world._

"So… you were born there right?"

_Yep, Mum taught me all sorts of stuff, like reading, climbing and talking. Dad taught me all sorts of cool fighting moves._ And to accentuate his point, he gave Lycan a jab on his left arm.

"Ouch." Lycan rubbed his arm. This was definitely no ordinary poring. But maybe all wild porings were like this. All full of spunk and energy. "Yeah… and you said you're parents were an angeling and an arch angeling?

_Uh huh._ He nodded again. Then frowned. _This is the _third_ time you asked that question. What's wrong with having an angeling and an arch angeling as parents?_

"Well, its kinda weird. Shouldn't you have… I dunno; wings? And what is glowing thing inside you?"

_You mean the gold stuff? Well, Mum didn't say much, and neither did those old porings. All I know is that I'm the only poring with it! _He started on his fourth apple.

"You know, I think you should slow down on the apples. They aren't free you know."

At that moment, the door opened. A roughly middle-aged man with a five-o'clock shadow and tassled gray hair stepped into the house, carrying a paper bag and a few jugs of cider. He was wearing a cowboy hat.

Lycan jumped up. "Hey Dad! Got dinner? You didn't bring back any lunch, I'm starving."

"Sorry kid," He placed the bag on the dining table. Roasted peco. "I was so busy juicing the apples into cider, I completely forgot about you." He accidentally kicked the poring.

_Hey! Watch it!_

"Whoops, sorry there little guy. Is that a new Poring?"

"Uh, you can say that Dad." Lycan popped a slice of Peco into his mouth, "Nisa found him, and I gotta look for the rest of the porings tommorow, there was a stampede earlier today." He was trying to restrain the poring from attacking his father.

_Lemme at 'em! Step on me will you?_

"Uh," Lycan smiled unconvincingly at his father, "He likes to be hugged."

The Poring huffed.

"What?" His father lugged 4 jugs of Apple Cider into the Storage. "You said something?"

_How'd you like it if someone kicked you in the butt huh?_

"Uh, nothing dad. Need help with those?"

"Nah. This is the last one" He wiped his hands and went opened the front door. "I gotta go back to the village square again. I might be a little late."

"What? You just got back. Anyway, I need help looking for the porings."

"Huh? It's late, boy, do it tomorrow. By the way, harvest moon is in three days, the mayor said there might be a Bard coming."

"A Bard?" Lycan's face lit up. "Does Califax know?"

"Well, s'long as you two don't blow up the fireworks like you did last year, I'm sure we're not gonna have any problems." He walked out of the door, before turning and yelling, "And get some sleep! You look like a bongun!"

_Poring step-onner._ The Poring stuck his tongue at the closed door.

Lycan bonked him on the head with the Peco's bones.

_Ow! What was that for?_

"It's time to sleep. You _do_ sleep right?"

_Of course I sleep, I'm a growing poring! I need my rest_

"Good, you're gonna need all the rest you can get, because tomorrow, you're going to help me find those runaway porings."

_What? Why me?_

"Well, it's because of you that the stampede started, hence, causing all the other porings to get lost."

_Fine… _He noticed the large jugs in the storage, and his eyes gleamed. _Oooo is that cider?_

"Yeah. It's harvest moon in three days, kind of like a celebration." He glanced back. "Don't touch it."

_Aww. Why not?_

"You drink cider? You're a poring, where do you even get them from?" He frowned. "Don't tell me you juice them yourself."

_No, of course not. My dad brings them, whenever he gets a few from Juno._

"Okay…" He decided not to question how an arch angeling would have access to cider. "Just go sleep, I'll need an early start tomorrow." Lycan looked at the floor and choked. "Okay, forget helping me, tomorrow, you shall clean the house instead."

_What? Why?_

On the floor, were a total of twenty green apple cores.

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Lots of dialogue in this chapter. Honestly, I felt that some parts were… lacking, can't tell which though. Too rushed? Unrealistic? Some stuff… meh, maybe I should use harder words to make it sound more… sophisticated, or something. But honestly, who uses thesaurus words when they're talking? Still, if anyone wants to comment on how I can improve, I'd gladly accept your help.

Give more love for writing plz.


	4. Chapter 3

Wow-o, I finally got off my massive lazy butt to do another chapter. 

Enjoy.

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**A Poring's Tale – Chapter Three**

_There! I'm done._ The poring slumped on the chair. He had spend at least two hours cleaning up the mess he had left, which was of course incredible considering he had no arms to begin with.

"That was fast." Lycan said, surprised. He had just returned from his search for the missing porings; apparently, they were still trying to decapitate Nisa's bag in hopes of finding more apples hidden within. "Okay then, I got to head over to the village now, there's nothing left to do here now anyway."

_Ok!_ He was curious to visit this 'village' that Lycan and his father had talked about last night. Also, he wanted to have a look at more 'people'. _Wait till' that moron finds out that all I did was sweep the mess under his bed, _he chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?"

_Oh, uh, nothing, _He grinned.

"Uh huh..." Lycan glared at the poring's innocent face suspiciously. "Let's just get moving. I wanna see if the bard got here."

_Bard?_

"Yes, bard." Lycan glanced at the poring's blank face and sighed. "A person that plays instruments and tells stories and stuff like that." He gestured with his hands, "You know, an entertainer."

Y_ou mean like a Carat?_

"Carat?"

_Yeah, a Carat, _the poring started boinking up and down._ Dad used to bring some back from Juno to entertain us. Though if you ask me, they put way too much makeup._

"Well, I guess you could call a bard a carat." Lycan said thoughtfully, "Your father travels a lot, huh?"

_Duh! Haven't you been listening? He's been to so many places. Like, Juno especially, he seems to like that place a lot. He says it's got really awesome climate._

"Really?" Lycan remarked absently, he was wiping the dining table with a small cloth. After a few brisk strokes, he tossed the rag over the kitchen sink, washed his hands, and headed to the door. Glancing back, he saw that the poring was still droning on and on about how 'incredibly awesome' his father was. "So, you coming or not?"

_Huh? Hey, weren't you listening to me? _He bounced out the door. _Never mind, I'll tell you the rest on the way there._

They walked along a dirt road that lead to the village. It wasn't a long walk, but little porings weren't exactly tolerant of walking… or bouncing. So it wasn't long before the little poring started to complain.

_Are we there yet?_

"No" Lycan sighed.

_I'm tired._

"…"

_I'm_-

"You realise we've only been walking for five minutes?" Lycan interrupted.

_No, but I'm still tired. _The poring started bouncing higher. _Slow down a little._

"You really should-"

_Don't move!_

"Huh?" He turned around.

And the poring dove right into his face.

"Argh!" Lycan toppled backwards, landing on several reddish-brown mushrooms. "What're you doing?"

_Bleh, I was aiming for your head._

Lycan staggered to an upright position, with the poring still clinging on his head. Finally gaining equilibrium, he prodded the little pink blob lying on his head and remarked, "Alright, what's the big idea?"

Look, let's face it. I'm not heavy, and you're head's kinda big. So why don't you just be a good guy and just let my take a break up here for a while.

Lycan opened his mouth and started to speak, but instead, he settled for an exasperated sigh. Besides, they were nearing their destination anyway. On his head, the poring wiggled comfortably and observed the world from its new point of view.

"By the way," Lycan remarked, "do have a name or something?"

_What's a name? _Came the innocent reply.

"Er…" Lycan blinked."A name is… uh, something that you're called."

_Oh… well I'm a poring. But my mum's an angeling. I got cousins that are poporings though._

"No, no. A name as in… you know… what other porings call you. I mean, you can just call each other _poring, _right?

_I don't know… we usually just… call each other. _The poor little blob sounded like he was thinking really hard. _Ahhh, whatever. I don't know. I can't remember. Besides _you_ don't even have a 'name'._

"Didn't I tell you yesterday?"

_No._

"Yes I did."

_No._

"Look, I distinctly remember myself telling you my name."

_Well, I think I forgot. So just tell me again._

The auburn-haired youth suppressed yet another exasperated sigh. "It's Lycan."

_Lycan? You mean like wolves? But wolves are way furrier than you are._

Lycan grimaced. "Yeah, Lycan kinda means wolves." He didn't particularly like it when people made that comparison. He hardly resembled a wolf at all, come to think of it; he had no idea why his parents even gave him that name.

_Hey, is that your 'village'?_

Ahead of them loomed a large arch, brightly decorated with flowers and berries at the sides, at the sides, many vibrant coloured flags poked out, each with a different picture of various local dishes. This probably meant this year's harvest was particularly good. Even the trees were ornately strung with coloured strings and lilies. Further down, wheat was scattered over the doorsteps of every household, and every window had a pie cooling. Even the usually frowning scarecrows were removed and replaced with a smiling one grasping different fruits on their twig-and-straw hands.

_Weird._ The poring remarked, looking around. He took a deep sniff. _But it smells pretty good._

Lycan took a deep breath as well. Harvest moon was the time everyone just sat around and basically ate their weight in food. There would be a festival the next day as well, but unfortunately, he had work to do right now. Trying to ignore the fact that he had a dense poring on his head, he headed over to _The Dusty Thornbush_ tavern, where he was supposed to help his father unload yesterday's cider.

_The Dusty Thornbush_ was a rather large house, arguably the largest in the village. It was a warm place where anyone could get a bite to eat, or something to drink at just about any time of the night. As soon as Lycan entered the tavern, an irresistible waft of desertwolf steak snaked past his nostrils. Trying to ignore the fact that it was terribly close to lunchtime, Lycan headed to over where his father was pouring cider into a large barrel.

Unfortunately, porings have noses too. Somehow.

_Wow, what is that deeelicious smell?_ Came the poring's almost expected remark.

"It's steak." Lycan said, curtly. "But we didn't come here to eat. I got work to do."

You_ have work to do, not me._

"In any case, I doubt they would let a poring eat meat."

_Oh yeah? Who says I can't ea-_

"Ah, there you are lad." It was his father. "Could you help me the rest of the cider into the store? I've been unloading them since I got here and I could use a good rest and a warm mug of ale."

"Uh, sure dad." He took the first jug from his father and tottered into the back of the tavern.

_Wow… cider._ The little blob stared at the jug mournfully. _Can I just have a sip?_

"No… you might get drunk or something."

Carefully placing the jug of cider on top of some crates, Lycan left the store and headed back to his father's wagon, which still a reasonable amount of jugs left stacked on it.

However, from the corner of his eye, Lycan noticed a dark figure crouching behind the wagon. He could almost hear its breaths, coming our short and fast. Abruptly, the figure darted out and there was a distinct chiming sound of a dagger being unsheathed, a bright flash of silver and then…

"KILL!"

"What the…!" Lycan toppled backwards, dropping the poring off his head.

_Ouch!_

Scrambling up, Lycan balled up his fists and glanced around. His staff had skidded off the ground and was lying a few feet away from him, leaving him defenseless. "Who's there?" He said, cautiously, "What do you want?"

However, all he heard was the sound of laughter coming out from behind him. Frowning, Lycan's sides drooped at the sudden realization of what was happening.

"Oh man… I… I can't believe you fell for that." It was a thief, struggling to catch his breath between laughs. "You… you should've seen your face… oh boy… priceless!"

Lycan wiped the dust off his face and scowled. "Jump off a cliff, Fax." But he couldn't help but grin upon looking at his "assaulters" face.

Califax was an orphan, but he got along well with the villagers, he does periodic odd jobs around the village, but he would rather be off at Prontera, doing whatever thieves do in crowded cities. He slept wherever he could, but since he was always such an obliging person when in the village, the innkeeper would often let him stay in one of his rooms. There was never really a dull moment around him, because even thought Fax was almost a year older than Lycan, he certainly didn't act like he was.

"Working so early?" Fax remarked, "Blac and I caught a Deniro, all sticky with mucus. We're gonna let it loose on the fields and watch the girls run." His brown eyes twinkled mischievously. "Wanna join us?"

Lycans smile broadened; it didn't sound as fun as what it was like a couple of years ago, but Fax didn't seem to grow up. He glanced back at the wagon. "Sorry Fax, but I promised dad I'd bring the Cider in."

Fax rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, alright then, whatever you want. Anyway, I heard that- huh?" He stepped on something. Something soft

.  
_OW!_

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Porings like to be stepped on. X


End file.
